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E-retailer Vente-Privee hires a fashion veteran to head up business in the UK

February 12, 2015 11:43 AM

Less than one year after it announced it was pulling out of the U.S., high-end flash-sale online retailer Vente-Privee announced it has hired Sally Scott to fill the new position of U.K. managing director.

Vente-Privee, No. 12 in the Internet Retailer Europe 500, says the move is part of its strategy to focus on growing sales and building its business in the U.K. Vente-Privee is based in Paris and sells in eight countries throughout Europe.

In her new role, Scott will oversee Vente-Privee’s business-to-business as well as direct-to-consumer sales in the U.K. Scott comes from Value Retail, where she was director of marketing. Value Retail operates nine outlet shopping centers in Europe. Before Value Retail, Scott spent six years in the same position for U.K.-based department store chain Selfridges.

“Sally Scott’s rich career experience as former marketing director of Selfridge’s and Value Retail Group, combined with her passion and enthusiasm for online retail make her the perfect choice to head vente-privee’s U.K. activity,” says Jacques-Antoine Granjon, founder and president of vente-privee.com

Vente-Privee, which launched in 2001 as one of the first flash-sale sites, has 2,100 employees and says its 2014 annual sales totaled 1.7 billion euros ($1.92 billion). It has 24 million members across Europe and sells items including apparel, wine, toys and housewares from more than 2,600 brands.

In 2011 Vente-Privee began selling in the U.S. through a partnership with payment card company American Express Co. but announced in October it was pulling out of the U.S. by the end of 2014. The retailer generated $50 million in sales in the U.S. in 2013, double its 2012 revenue, and had 1 million U.S. members.

“Over the past three years, Vente-Privee made many noteworthy achievements in the U.S. market,” the retailer said in a statement announcing its departure. “The company does however acknowledge that an exponential amount of time, resources and financial investment would be required to achieve significant growth in the U.S. with the current model. Vente-Privee will maintain its focus on key markets where the potential for growth is much greater and can be achieved much quicker.”